Cutting Ties
by AlyssaLies28
Summary: Yusuke's reaction to his demon heritage was more catastrophic than most knew. Except for Kuwabara and Kurama, who helped Yusuke through the rough transition; Kurama instucting Yusuke in the way of the demon and Kuwabara reminding him he will always have the heart of a human. And through the process of healing their friend, the redheads are bonded in a new way for both of them.
1. Chapter 1

_How I think Yusuke'd handle being a demon once it finally sunk in. Kuwabara and Kurama try to help the best they can._

"You are demon now, Yusuke. You will learn sooner rather than later that humans…are more pain than they are worth," Kurama said sadly with a deadened face. He was glad for the door that separated him from the freshly turned Mazoku. Kurama didn't feel he could stand to see the state Yusuke was in. Unfortunately, he could still hear the small muffled sniffles Yusuke was trying to stifle through the bathroom door. Sliding down the rough wooden panel between him and his aching friend, Kurama wanted desperately to change everything for both himself and Yusuke. Hiei was wise to have never made close human contacts. He'd never have to watch as those frail loved ones fell to time, while their demon counterparts lived on for centuries longer.

Yusuke rested on the cold white tiled floor, his back pressed firmly against the door in the hopes of keeping the reality of his situation (Kurama) out. He had tucked against his chest his mother, passed out drunk from another night of partying. He clung to her body in desperation, not wanting to believe that she was so much closer to death than he was, and he'd just died for the second time. A sob choked in his throat. Rocking back and forth, Yusuke buried his head into his mother's hair. The smell of cigarettes, beer, and sweat was a familiar fragrance that did little to comfort him as he stroked her long hair flat. A hiccup started up along with the continuing flow of tears down his marked face.

"Yusuke, please, I kn-," Kurama began.

"Stop," said Yusuke in such a deadly calm, hard way that Kurama knew there was nothing more he could do for his friend. Kurama was never really good at connecting emotionally, though. So he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. After sending off the text, Kurama listlessly laid the phone to his side and waited. The sounds of Yusuke's inner despair and turmoil were the only things in the silence of the night.

Time passed excruciatingly slow for Kurama as he waited for the Knight in shining armor to show up on a white stead. A bare pair of muddied, bloodied feet crossed his line of vision. Kurama raised his downcast gaze to stare up at Kuwabara's panting figure. Other than the various placements of bandages on his form, Kuwabara was clad in only his boxers.

"He…He that… bad?" said Kuwabara, trying to catch his breath. As soon as he'd received Kurama's text concerning Yusuke, he'd literally jumped up and ran straight out the door. The thought of his dearest friend in need the only thing on his mind as he'd raced to the rescue.

For a moment Kurama just stared blankly at the hunched over man. Then without so much as a word, he stood and passed a pair of scissors to the mostly nude man in front of him.

It was with great concern and worry that Kuwabara watched Kurama wearily shuffle out of sight into the kitchen. A tingle started up in Kuwabara's nose accompanying the sting of his eyes and the heat that seared across the rest of his face. Jaw set hard, Kuwabara breathed deeply through his nose, willing the image of a defeated Kurama to leave his mind and to keep his tears at bay. In the short time he'd known the other redhead, in all of their missions where they were mercilessly taxed physically, mentally, and emotionally, Kuwabara'd never seen him in such a despairing state. The pair of clunky, old fashion silver scissors shook in his clenched fist, the cold metal biting at his hand consuming his attention as he tried not to think of how Yusuke must be acting to trigger a side of Kurama he'd never seen.

After taking a few more shaky breathes and swallowing down his rising panic, Kuwabara turned to the door and gently laid his hand on its beat-to-shit surface. He'd made no noise in this act; spoken no words to persuade Yusuke for his entrance into the bathroom, but a few seconds passed with Kuwabara just standing there before a soft click sounded. Kuwabara listened to the hushed shuffling sounds in the next room, waiting for Yusuke to clear from the doors swing. He tucked the clunky scissor into the waistband of his bowers before pushing past the door. Kuwabara was surprised to be greeted with the image of Atsuko's inebriated form slumped between her son's spread legs.

Kuwabara's heart twisted painfully in his chest as he lingered in the doorway fully taking in the scene in front of him.

Yusuke sat curled on the dirty tiled floor, one leg bent up towards his chest with most of his mother's sprawled body lying limp underneath it. The other leg was stretched out flat, acting as a counterbalance to Yusuke's hunched form over top Atsuko. She let out the smallest of hiccups when Yusuke's tight grip around her waist squeezed her further. Both of them were carefully wedged into the cramped space between the toilet and the counter. The trash can that usually took up residence in that shallow recess was lying knocked to its side in front of the tub, trash strewn about. Kuwabara was highly disturbed to spy several murky brown, used pads in the pile.

Long strands of wild dark hair trailed the floor and over the toilet seat, forming a fragile sort of cage around the two Urameshis huddled together. Yusuke's eyes were popped open wide with an uncontainable fear; his gaze starring intensely, blankly, straight ahead of him pass the trash mess into the tub.

"Hey," Kuwabara greeted.

Yusuke showed no signs of hearing him.

Kuwabara stood starring sadly at his broken spirited friend. He wondered if Hiei would complete this evening of radical personality differences by coming in here and profess his love for him. Kuwabara shuddered at the thought, his mind reeling from the impossibility of the occurrence.

"You just gonna die like she is," said Yusuke. His words were barely above a whisper, but they echoed loudly in Kuwabara's ears, letting him know how morose Yusuke was thinking.

"Your mom'll probably die of liver failure before too long," Yusuke flinched violently at the harsh truth. "I'll be going out trying to fight on your level and getting my ass kicked. Won't die the same, but probably around the same time at this rate."

Kuwabara scrunched up his nose as the smell in the bathroom finally worked its way to him. The smell was of vomit, which was smeared between the two Urameshi's, creating the foulest sandwich Kuwabara ever wanted to witness. With a sigh, he nudged the trash from his path and reached into the tub. Cold water pelted his exposed shoulder for a brief moment, sending his teeth chattering before he yanked his arm outta the way. Bending down in the cramp bathroom, Kuwabara easily lifted the combined weight of Yusuke and Atsuko and gently laid them in the bottom of the tub. The shower sprayed ice cold water in his face for his kind efforts. Yusuke hissed and shied away from the spray, dragging with him his mother who was moaning weakly. Kuwabara left them be for a few minutes to get used to the temperature of the water and hopefully both would wake up from their stupor.


	2. Chapter 2

_And now it's Kurama's turn to go crazy! The man's mind is centuries old, so you know he's gotta have some pretty fucked up issues._

Kuwabara followed the sound of metal clanking together into the kitchen, spying Kurama listlessly washing the pile of dishes in the sink. Under the influence of the weak florescent lighting, Kurama looked like shit. Or really, he gave the strong impression of shit. Physically, he looked no different than he did any other day, but the very air around him seemed bogged down by his troubled spirit. Like earlier, Kuwabara got the sense that Kurama was drowning in the mental breakdown Yusuke was having. Kuwabara hung back in the hallway shadows and sighed to himself. The situation would be funnier if two of his friends weren't completely mindfucked. Hiei didn't count cause he was constantly mentally off.

While Yusuke choked on the water in the shower, the poster boy for bodily turmoil, Kurama was slumped over the countertop emotionally disabled. Of course Yusuke won the prize for most fucked up for being distraught mentally, emotionally, and physically. Kuwabara could see how demonhood would come as a shock after fourteen years as a human. Yusuke was never one for planning more than a few hours to possibly a day in advance, let alone where he saw his life leading, but he still must have expected to live his life in the only way he'd ever known; humanly.

Kuwabara walked over to Kurama, cringing as he dirtied up the already filthy floor with his still bleeding feet. Sensing his arrival, Kurama held up a hand over his shoulder, asking for a moment as he turned his downtrodden head away. Completely ignoring this silent request and invading the private man's space, Kuwabara stepped up close behind Kurama, gently gripping his hunched in shoulders. Kuwabara dimly noted how his hands overflowed Kurama's shoulders. Heat pooled in the small space between their two bodies and Kuwabara could practically feel the subtle shift of muscles along Kurama's back as he brought his hand back down.

"Urameshi, he's tough. He's gotta real thick hide; nothing gets him down long," Kuwabara squeezed Kurama's shoulders. "You gonna pull through this too?"

Kurama shrugged out from under Kuwabara's hands, pushing pass him. He stared at the bloody footprints back stepping to the bathroom, wrapping his arms around himself in a weak self-assuring hug.

"How will I do it? How will I be able to live on as a demon when the time comes," said Kurama in a soft, choked voice thick with tears, "when I've lived as a human for what seems so long?"

Kuwabara's quiet "Kurama," went unheard to the distressed man in front of him.

"My mother, _you_. How will I go on without the two of you? How could I possibly carry the pain of your loss with me centuries after your departure from this world?"

Kuwabara was unbelievably touched to tears that he was such a profound part of Kurama's life. He'd honestly thought Kurama viewed him as a lower creature that could occasionally rise to a challenge. The sob wretched from Kurama's turned figure had his arms aching to hold the crying man until all his fears and worries subsided. Right as he moved to envelope him in a hug, Kurama spoke again, his nearly hysterical rambling almost lost in his emotion thickened voice.

"I-I-I've known her for s-such a short time; known you even shorter-er. But you-you have enthralled me so." Suddenly, Kurama rounded on Kuwabara, consumed with a furious hate. Rage flickered through his body as if flames burned away at him. The inhuman voice, distorted further with vehement rage, tore at Kuwabara's heart like it had claws of its own.

"_WHY HAVE YOU TRAPPED ME TO THIS HUMAN PLANE?!"_ Kurama's anguished yell boomed throughout the small apartment, leaving him shaking where he stood, hands clenched with the urge to strike out. In that moment, he truly looked the part of a trapped feral animal; breathing heavily and wild eyes casting about blindly, looking for a way to escape how he felt. Kuwabara remained still, waiting for Kurama to come back to his senses. If calm, calculating Kurama was reacting so violently, Kuwabara hated to see how Yusuke would flip out. Struck by an epiphany, Kuwabara thought that Kurama and Yusuke had traded personalities for the day; Kurama was acting out, while Yusuke became an introvert.

A small noise from the doorway had Kuwabara peering around to see Yusuke, sopping wet and shivering, standing in the frame. Tucked safely in his arms was his mother still passed out and looking ridiculously oversized in her son's wiry hold. Yusuke blinked slowly, a vacant, drugged-out expression on his face. He peeled open his mouth and said in a crackly croak, "Being demon sucks."

Kurama choked back another sob, nodding fervently.

Fed up, Kuwabara popped his neck and rolled his shoulders into a determined set. Both Kurama and Yusuke were lost in their own little demon Hell, where humans unwittingly imprisoned them. Kuwabara figured they needed a verbal bitch slap to snap them out of their depressive states. Their depression was to be expected though. Mortality was a traumatic thing for anyone to truly grasp. Kuwabara, having been forced through this important life stage at a young age due to his ability to see the spiritual essence left behind by the dead, was years ahead of the two demons on this issue. So he decided to enlighten them the same way his mother had way back when.

"Alright, listen here assholes. Death is pretty much inevitable. You're gonna die," he jabbed a finger at Kurama, "You're gonna die," pointed at Yusuke, "And I'm gonna die. Get over it. We'll all see each other in The End. Hell, with how long you guys'll be kicking, I might get the chance to pop in a few lifetimes and get reacquainted with you. So quit with the moping and act like you got a lick of Goddamn sense to ya!" Kuwabara ended on a growl.

"Now you go to your _fucking_ room, get dressed, and put your mom to bed," snarled Kuwabara. He felt relief tug at his heart and his weary mind when Yusuke shot him an affronted look. The dazed look he'd been wearing all night freaked Kuwabara out more than being forced to view a small portion of the Black tape, so Kuwabara was glad for the return to normalcy.

"Fuck. _Alright_. Don't get your boxers in a wedge," Yusuke grumbled as he stomped away to carry out his assigned tasks. Kuwabara stared after Yusuke, trying to delay facing Kurama. He cast around in his mind, searching for words, any words, to pull Kurama to his senses, but he found none.


	3. Chapter 3

_Yusuke has a way of interrupting at the wrong time. But he's got a certain charm that makes up for it. Plus he and Kuwabara are besties, they're each other's support._

Kuwabara felt warm hands on his exposed mid-back, right below the bandages that bound his sore ribs. Goosebumps spread across his skin as Kurama's breath ghosted his shoulder blades. His body sagged in exhaustion when Kurama bowed his head to his nape, resting his forehead there.

"My apologizes, Kuwabara. I shouldn't ha-"

"Don't," Kuwabara whispered. "You meant every word of it."

He turned around and grabbed Kurama's hands. Green eyes stared up into shining black onyx.

"I don't know what's doing between us. I like you; I do. But I don't want to be your trap. I'm not gonna force you into the role of a human when you are so clearly demon," Kuwabara said softly.

All Kurama could do was gaze in wonder at Kuwabara. Compared to Kurama, he was a child, an infant. But even in the face of uncertainty, he held his heart in confident hands, relying on his impeccable morals to guide him through the obstacles that pop up in life. Kurama, with all his smarts, desperately wished he knew how to navigate life in this way instead of depending on cunning, wits, and thievery. It took a kind of certain strength to live in such a buoyant manner. And it was in this regard that Kuwabara was a man, while Kurama was the child.

"I…I need to think," Kurama finally said. He knew this wasn't a problem to be rationalized, but he needed time to figure out what he wanted; to be human as he felt or demon like he knew. In centuries past, knowledge meant survival and survival was something Kurama excelled at. But there was something about the raw depth of human emotions, so much more rapid-fire and intense that this human body of his brought about. And Kuwabara had a way of rousing his body into a frenzy.

"Take your time. Just don't over think everything like I know you will," said Kuwabara.

"Got Ma in bed. Man it was awkward as Hell stripping he- holy shit that's gay," Yusuke said, rounding the corner into the kitchen and getting an eyeful of Kuwabara and Kurama standing intimately close, loosely holding hands.

Kurama shyly stepped back. While he was no novice when it came to matters of the flesh, his mind was reeling with the kinda care Kuwabara brought about in him. His body definitely knew what it wanted and what to do, but his aged mind was struggling to keep up or even to comprehend the different kinda loves humans had for each other. It took him so long to come to terms and embrace the love between mother and child. He wondered if understanding would be shorter with this new intense love he felt for Kuwabara that affected him in so many physical ways. He especially didn't enjoy the heat in his cheeks at being caught by Yusuke in his more expressive moments. It just seemed too… cherished to be seen so openly by others.

Kuwabara, ignoring one of Yusuke's incredibly rude and frequent outbursts, looked at his best friend and smiled. "I know you've seen your mom naked before. "

"Oh, God, more times than I eva' wanna."

"So don't being acting all surprised."

"I guess. S'not like this is even then first time I've stripped the drunk, too. "

Kurama cleared his throat, interrupting Kuwabara's rebuttal. "Not to interpose, but I believe I should be getting back to my own mother." He side stepped Kuwabara and approached Yusuke. Yusuke met him halfway and, catching Kurama off guard swept him up off his feet in a hug. Quickly overcoming his surprise, he hugged the soft hearted Mazoku. "Never be of fear to talk to me, if the urge ever rises."

In reply, Yusuke gave Kurama's ribs an extra squeeze before replacing him on the ground. Chuckling to himself, Kurama swiftly left through the kitchen door. For a long moment Kuwabara thought Kurama was brushing him off. He was slightly hurt, majorly pissed, and outrageously confused by the abrupt cold-shoulder treatment he was getting. By the look of 'Holy shit, he just did that, sorry man' on Yusuke face, Kuwabara knew he was justifiable in what he felt. All his rattled emotions calmed when Kurama scurried back to his side. His gait lacked the usual grace and poise and made him appear as if he were shitfaced.

Kuwabara glared at Yusuke's childishly pleased face over the top of Kurama's head. Yusuke flashed him a double thumbs up and turned his back on the red hair pair. Turning his gaze to Kurama, Kuwabara could see the embarrassment of Yusuke's presence flushed across his face. Eyes shifted to the side, Kurama grabbed at the bandages around Kuwabara's chest and jerked the man down. The quick peck on the lips Kurama gave him sent his heart pumping overtime. In all his wonderings, Kuwabara hadn't thought his first kiss would be with a guy, girls were just more his thing. And in his fantasies he'd exaggerated the moment a bit by turning a first kiss into a steamy makeout. But as Kurama pulled back with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, Kuwabara thought the millisecond peck was perfect.

Kurama cleared his throat nervously. With a curt nod and a muttered, "Kuwabara," he turned and walked back out the door, punching Yusuke upside the back of his head for snickering as he passed.

Yusuke rubbed the back of his head still smiling brightly. He moved to Kuwabara's side and the both of them stared meaningfully after Kurama even though he was already gone.

"Sooooo…..You and Kurama," Yusuke started.

"Not yet," Kuwabara said, smiling, "But maybe."

"Cool," Yusuke said. He and Kuwabara bumped fists grinning like mad men. "Queer, but, you know, cool."

"Thanks man."


End file.
